EWMI CSEP - Innovation and Challenge Grants - Round 1 RfA - GEO - May2022

Request for Applications (RfA)
Innovation and Challenge Grants (ICG) Program
Amount of ICGs: Min. $10,000 – Max. $25,000

Number of ICGs to be issued: Up to 8
Duration of projects: Max. 12 months
Deadline: May 31, 2022
Who can apply: Registered and unregistered civic groups
Apply Now
The USAID Civil Society Engagement Program announces the open-door Innovation and Challenge
Grants (ICGs) program to support citizen engagement and community-strengthening initiatives by
Georgian civil society organizations (CSOs), civic movements, professional associations, and
unregistered citizen groups. The ICGs will be awarded through a competitive application process.
Under this call, EWMI will award up to eight grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. EWMI reserves
the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.
Grants will be issued for a period of up to 12 months.
GRANT PURPOSE
The purpose of this grant program is to build the capacity of formal and informal civic organizations
and community groups to address issues that are regarded as top priorities by local communities. It can
also be used to address the most pressing issues for Georgia. The ICG program supports the
fundamental goal of the USAID Civil Society Engagement Program to increase citizen engagement,
awareness, and participation in civic action and democratic processes in Georgia.
Examples of projects that align with the goals of the ICG program and the USAID Civil Society
Engagement Program include:
Citizen mobilization campaigns to bring more citizens into decision-making processes and civic
initiatives to meet community-identified needs, particularly in communities facing higher
barriers to civic participation.
Public outreach campaigns that mobilize financial and non-financial resources from individuals
and organizations through crowdfunging, donations, corporate responsibility, volunteering,
and other means to address community needs.
Public outreach and information campaigns, including viral campaigns, to enhance public
understanding of the targeted problem and mobilize support to address it.
Policy change campaigns to support or incentivize policy change at the local or national level
Page 1 of 4
through citizen participation.
Special consideration will be given to grant applications that:

Target a specific problem and explain why this problem is of high priority for Georgia and/or
the targeted community/region.
Demonstrate strong knowledge of the environment in which the project will be implemented.
Propose realistic, creative, and innovative approaches, including e-solutions, to address the
problem.
Ensure wide and meaningful participation of disadvantaged and marginalized communities,
including women, persons with disabilities (PwDs), and minorities.
If ICG grantees secure additional funds from local sources (i.e., citizens, the private sector, or the
government) for the ICG project or its continuation, EWMI will give bonus/match funding (i.e., increase
the grant amount) under the condition that funds are used to expand, scale, and/or extend the grant
activity. This can include:
Raising in-kind or monetary contributions from citizens that can be matched by EWMI.
Reaching an agreement with either the local or national government that if the project is
successful, the government will commit systemic support to continue its impelementation. For
example, this may occur if the government chooses to include the program in its portfolio of
public services and products.
Securing support from a private sector organization to scale up the ICG activities and achieve
systemic and sustainable changes.
APPLICATION SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

The USAID Civil Society Engagement Program will accept completed applications in English, Georgian,
Armenian, or Azerbaijani. EWMI will accept grant applications in written or video format (as an
alternative to written applications). There are no restrictions on how the video should be composed;
however, it should address the questions listed on the Application Form (i.e., explain the targeted
problem and the solutions applicant plans to use to overcome it). The USAID Civil Society Engagement
Program encourages applicants to include multiple voices from different members of the
affected/engaged community. Applicants can use camcorders, cameras, or phones to record the videos
– they need not be professionally edited or filmed. Videos must be no more than five minutes long and
uploaded to YouTube (with the link included in the application).
Completed Application Forms or video applications must be submitted via email at [email protected].
Please write “ICG Program” in the subject line. Requests for clarification should be sent to Ani
Nikabadze at [email protected].
EVALUATION PROCESS AND CRITERIA

The selection process will be administered by a Grants Review Committee (GRC) established by the
USAID Civil Society Engagement Program for the purpose of this grant program. The GRC will be
composed of EWMI staff and other independent experts. If an application is short-listed for potential
funding, the respective applicant may be requested to provide additional information.
The GRC will assess applications based on the following criteria:

Compliance with ICG objectives.
Effectiveness of and innovation in proposed strategies.
Level of citizen engagement.
Page 2 of 4
Focus on regions and marginalized communities.
Cost-effectiveness.
Project team’s qualifications and capacity.
If shortlisted for funding, grant applicants will be invited to take part in a participatory (co-creation)
planning meeting to develop a detailed activity and outreach plan for the ICG program.
TIMELINE
RfA launch date May 10, 2022
Open Door Day at the EWMI Offices and/or online May 17, 2022
DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS May 31, 2022 at 16:30
Evaluation of applications June 10, 2022
Grant award notification to successful applicants June 13, 2022
Please note that evaluation and award dates may change
FUNDING SCHEMES
There will be two different funding arrangements for registered CSOs and unregistered citizen groups.
Registered CSOs will be asked to submit standard grant budgets detailing their expenses. Unregistered
citizen groups will be asked to submit a list of goods/services needed to implement their initiatives,
costs of the goods/services, and a list of vendors who can provide those goods/services.
The ICG program will not fund:

Support for or lobbying on behalf of a particular political party.
Religious activities.
Theoretical/academic research.
Training as the core activity of the project.
Individual and/or group travel as a primary project activity.
Humanitarian activities.
Construction costs.
Debt servicing/recovery.
Retrospective expenses (i.e., costs that were incurred before the start of the project).
AWARD NOTIFICATION
The USAID Civil Society Engagement Program will notify all applicants about the results of the selection
process, including the grant applicants who are not successful. Considering the number of received
grant applications, EWMI may not be able to provide detailed explanations for rejection to all
applicants. The USAID Civil Society Engagement Program will send notifications to successful grant
applications by the indicated deadline and specify the necessary next steps. EWMI will be transparent
about whom it funds, ensuring its data is publicly available to ensure public scrutiny and participation.
GRANT ADMINISTRATION AND REPORTING

ICG grantees will be required to submit periodic progress reports and a final report on the grant project
progress and outcomes. For some grant projects, the program may revisit reporting formats and
replace written narrative reports with periodic phone calls and/or site visits as a way of making
reporting a two-way conversation and encouraging open reflection.
The USAID Civil Society Engagement Program representatives will be available to provide technical
Page 3 of 4
assistance throughout the grant cycle. The program will also support regular experience-sharing and
networking among its grantees.
EWMI is keen to learn and improve. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding EWMI’s grant
programs and procedures, please share them with us via email or Facebook.
Page 4 of 4

EWMI CSEP - Innovation and Challenge Grants - Round 1 RfA - GEO - May2022

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

EWMI CSEP - Innovation and Challenge Grants - Round 1 RfA - GEO - May2022

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

EWMI CSEP - Innovation and Challenge Grants - Round 1 RfA - GEO - May2022

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Request for Applications (RfA)

Innovation and Challenge Grants (ICG) Program

Amount of ICGs: Min. $10,000 – Max. $25,000

Grants will be issued for a period of up to 12 months.

Special consideration will be given to grant applications that:

APPLICATION SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

EVALUATION PROCESS AND CRITERIA

The GRC will assess applications based on the following criteria:

The ICG program will not fund:

GRANT ADMINISTRATION AND REPORTING

You might also like